Since there are 24 hours in one day, the length of this world map can also be represented as a 24 hour period of time. Therefore any length which is measured across the map can also be represented as time, a portion of the entire length (24 hours).
Move the left point of the yellow segment to the left edge of the shadow until the segment crosses the latitude of interest. Then stretch the right point of the segment to the right edge of the shadow. The length of this line represents the duration of light at that specific latitude. Explore the map to discover the relationship between the duration of sunlight and latitude. A positive value for latitude indicates North, a negative value indicates South.
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Copyright 1999 John C. Park for the Science Junction
Still images of Earth ©1999 The Living Earth, Inc.